


Stunnin'

by wonbit



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sexual Tension, fashion photographer doyoung, model taeyoung, why is jaehyun a med student? good question
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:39:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27520135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonbit/pseuds/wonbit
Summary: Doyoung saw attractive people everyday. He photographed them, admired them (to an extent), and had them featured in magazine spreads. However, they were never the focus of Doyoung’s job. It was as Johnny liked to say; they made a living off of making hot people look hotter and the clothes they wore hotter still.Doyoung saw attractive people everyday. He thought he was immune to them. But even after spilt coffee, rude exchanges, and near constant bickering, he still can’t get one man out of his head.In which Jaehyun says Doyoung's lonely, but Doyoung disagrees.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Mingyu, Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Lee Taeyong
Comments: 12
Kudos: 66





	1. Allure

**Author's Note:**

> this work is dedicated to my bitch ass friends and their dumb matching dotae phone wallpapers  
>   
> ! rating may change !

Doyoung didn’t hate mornings. They were fine. Sometimes a little too exhausting or a little too quiet, but usually they were peaceful. He took a shower, hummed along to the radio as he made and ate said breakfast, brushed his teeth, got dressed, and walked out the door feeling good about himself. 

But God did he hate mornings when he didn’t have enough time to complete that routine.

A sickening headache was not a fantastic way to start his day. Nor was a call to a stubborn landlord who kept insisting his building’s pipes were in pristine condition, despite the rusty water leaking from Doyoung’s showerhead saying otherwise. 

All in all, Doyoung wanted to forgo work entirely and curl back up in his bed for the hard restart he needed to make his day tolerable. A bad morning never meant well for the rest of the day’s content… at least that’s what Doyoung’s mom used to tell him. But Doyoung preferred to be a little more optimistic. 

He grit through the rest of the conversation with his landlord, trying to placate the man as he went off about how long he had owned the building and the lack of complaints up until now. Doyoung really didn’t have time for this. He was bound to miss his regular train at this point, but a second train left at nine and he could just make it into the studio at 9:30 if he ran from the station to the Neo Culture building. Maybe if he showed up out of breath enough, Johnny would find it “cute” that he had sprinted the distance and excuse him being a few minutes late. 

Doyoung’s landlord kept droning on as Doyoung pulled on some socks and checked the clock above his dresser. 8:47. _Shit._

“Seungho-nim, I _really_ just need you to check the pipes.” Doyoung pleaded and the old man grunted, clearly annoyed with being interrupted. He muttered something that sounded like _‘the youth have no respect these days’_ and Doyoung rubbed at his temples. His head hurt worse. “Please.”

“Fine. But this is only because you’ve been insistent. There’s nothing wr-”

“Thank you so much Seungho-nim. Have a wonderful day.” Doyoung said quickly before hanging up and rushing to gather his things. 

He didn’t even bother tying his shoes as he sprinted out the door, taking the stairs two at a time in a desperate attempt to make his train. Time was not in his favor, but he ran anyway, dodging nasty looking men wrapped up in ill fitting suits as he hustled down the busy Seoul street. 

Doyoung just managed to catch his train, the doors almost shutting on his bag before he could yank it to his chest as he stumbled into the car. Half of him hoped to find some semblance of peace before arriving at the office. But no. Of course the universe would refuse him that. 

Doyoung found himself desperately digging through his bag for the pair of earbuds that should’ve been wrapped up neatly in the front pocket as a small child let the train car know how unhappy it was. Very loudly.

The longer he searched, the longer the baby screeched, and the harder his head pounded. 

He let out a frustrated sigh as his search came up with nothing but an old pack of gum and a grimy broken lighter Yukhei had picked up out of the gutter and handed to him “as a gift” two weeks ago. _Where were those goddamn earbuds?_ He tossed the lighter roughly back into his bag when there really was nothing else hiding at the very bottom of his bag covered in grime and leaned up against the center pole. 

Doyoung desperately tried to ignore how many people’s germs he was probably getting all over himself as he let his head fall forward and rest against the cool metal. It felt good. Soothing. Doyoung closed his eyes, trying to mentally drown out the child’s wail. 

Don’t get it wrong, Doyoung liked kids… when they weren’t crying or screaming... but the kid beside him just happened to be doing both. And when Doyoung’s lazy attempt at mediation failed to make the screams go quiet, a withering look was given to the baby who stopped it’s bitching briefly to stare at Doyoung with big teary eyes. 

Then, there was silence. Four whole seconds of lovely perfect silence. Four seconds in which Doyoung thought his morning wouldn’t suck. Four seconds in which Doyoung actually felt bad for this (admittedly very cute) child and genuinely wondered why it was so upset. 

But then the goblin redoubled it’s effort, and all of Doyoung’s sympathy went out the window. 

Doyoung was not proud as he had the thought of strangling a child run through his head. Not proud at all. 

Eventually the child’s father exited the train and took his hellspawn with him, Doyoung shooting the baby a very tired look as it stared back over it’s father’s shoulder with it’s chubby little face contorted in unhappiness. There was snot smeared all over it’s bright red cheeks and it’s father’s shirt and Doyoung couldn’t help the way he grimaced at the mess. 

The rest of the subway ride passed in a weird haze where Doyoung’s mind floated off into the great black empty cosmos while he acutely felt every ache and pain splattered throughout his brain. When the train stopped abruptly at the station near the Neo Culture building, Doyoung’s head was sent into the pole he stood in front of and the short sharp pain created by the connection of skull to metal just made his headache so much worse. _At least you’re awake now,_ Doyoung’s brain supplied unhelpfully as he pushed his legs to move him out of the train and towards Neo Culture as fast as he could manage. 

The clock read 9:27 and he was not about to be late. 

  
  


Doyoung felt his heart do something funny as he made eye contact with the man in front of him. A little stutter in it’s steady beat. His brain stuttered too. 

Simply put; this man was beautiful. 

_Model material_. Doyoung’s brain echoed, and model material he certainly was. The man’s sharp features and lithe frame reminded Doyoung of a faerie or a cat. Or maybe something more dangerous. He couldn’t decide. 

Strands of faded pink hair stuck out from under a plain black ball cap that Doyoung wished wasn't in the way so he could see the man’s face without the layer of shadow created by the hat. It was a shame the light wasn’t able to hit his eyes, since Doyoung was convinced they would have shone, even under the lobby’s disgusting fluorescents. But even now, the gaze this stranger was fixing Doyoung with was enough to make him flush and Doyoung didn’t want to know what he’d feel like when able to see this man clearly. 

However, the second lukewarm coffee—that looked like it was more milk than anything—splashed across his chest, Doyoung felt a little bit of that awe slip away and replace itself with frustration as his pristine white shirt turned into a wet tan one. 

“ _Fuck._ ” the pretty stranger hissed as Doyoung examined how much of his outfit would need to be replaced. The shirt at the very least. His jeans too, but only if he could find a replacement that was his size as well as non designer on set. But Mingyu was modeling today, so he’d have better luck poking through a storage room than putting up with baggy pants. But whatever. He’d cross that bridge when it came to it. 

“Excuse me-” Doyoung started to say, but the stranger cut him off. 

“I can’t be fucking late to this.” he muttered, eyes flicking back and forth between Doyoung and the elevator at the back of the lobby. Doyoung’s mouth fell open a little bit. He had expected an apology. Not to be completely disregarded. 

“Are you kidding me?” Doyoung asked, his hands finding their place on his hips as he eyed the stranger with a mix of disbelief and annoyance. He got no response. Just this man staring at him as if he was the one covered in a Starbucks cappuccino. Not Doyoung. Like this all wouldn’t have happened if Doyoung had been looking where he was going. But the thing is, Doyoung was looking. It was this bubblegum bitch who had clipped his shoulder in the first place. 

Doyoung couldn’t help the scoff that left his lips. Of course this was another shitty result of the morning. Maybe his mom was right with her saying. 

The stranger seemed to notice something behind Doyoung as his eyes widened slightly. Doyoung started to turn to see what it was, but was roughly pushed to the side as the stranger made a mad dash to the elevators. 

The clock above them read 9:32. Doyoung was so screwed. 

“I’ll call someone to clean that up.” Doyoung heard Jeno say from where he sat behind the front desk. 

“Great.” Doyoung snapped and Jeno narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. “I’m not-” Doyoung sighed and looked down at his ruined shirt and the coffee pooled around his feet. “Look. I got up two hours ago and both of those hours have been pretty awful, Jeno-ssi. I’m just frustrated in general. Not at you.” Jeno eyebrows disappeared under his bangs and Doyoung truly could not tell if the man was still mildly annoyed or just thought Doyoung was pitiful. Either way, Doyoung didn’t have time to worry about the secretary and his opinions. 

“Thanks for helping get that cleaned.” Doyoung said to Jeno.

“Hope your day gets better.” Jeno responded with a slight smile. 

“Thanks.” Doyoung gave a slight bow to Jeno along with a smile (that he was sure read as more of a grimace) before heading in the direction of studio B. 

On the way over his phone buzzed once… twice. Doyoung opened it to check who it was from and sighed at the big 9:33 pasted at the top of the and the two rather aggressive texts from Johnny asking where he was. 

Doyoung didn’t bother to respond. Just walked a little faster. 

  
  


“Our photographer has finally arrived.” Johnny joked as Doyoung poked his head into the studio. Aside from a few small things, the set seemed to be completed and Doyoung couldn’t help but wince once he realized that poor Kun must have been here since six without help in order to get everything this way. And Doyoung hadn’t been there for any of it. His stomach knotted with a sense of guilt as he locked eyes with Kun on the far end of the studio. 

The Chinese man seemed to be somewhat of a mind reader as he instantly dropped the fairy lights he was hanging so that he could talk Doyoung down from whatever spiral he was setting himself up for.

“Doyoung, it’s fine. I didn’t need the extra hands.” Kun said firmly. 

“But-” Doyoung tried to argue.

“Save it.” Kun refuted. “I got it done.” Doyoung let out a long breath as he let relife trickle into his system. Kun just rolled his eyes. “Now, were the coffee stains intentional?”

“He wouldn’t wear brown otherwise.” Johnny chimed in and Kun grinned.

“Doyoungie, I’m so glad you’re trying new things.”

“Didn’t think I’d see the day where you wore something else then black or white.” 

“Can I just exist? In peace? For like maybe ten minutes?” Doyoung finally spat and both Kun and Johnny clicked their tongues and shook their heads.

“This is what you get for being late.” Johnny reasoned with a shrug. 

“Wow.” Doyoung snorted, as he went to check the rack of clothes near the door for something wearable. “It’s like neither of you wear boring clothes just as often as I do.” he said sarcastically as he side eyed Johnny’s blue jeans, brown jacket combo and Kun’s slightly oversized grey sweatshirt. 

Kun scoffed before holding up a hand. “At least I accessorize.” 

“Wearing a busted moodring Yukhei picked up and gave to you while drunk is not accessorizing. You’re wearing it out of obligation.” Doyoung argued as he finally found a nice (hopefully not expensive) black long sleeve with thick grey stripes running around the middle. 

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Kun lamented and Doyoung couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m pretty sure it’s still trash.”

Doyoung heard Mark’s voice echo from the corner of the set before he saw him. 

“How come he hasn’t given me a gift?” Mark complained as he rustled through the light gels to find a nice turquoise one. 

“You really want one of Yukhei’s gifts?” Johnny asked, and Doyoung turned right in time to watch Mark nod his head enthusiastically. Knowing what was about to conspire, Doyoung dug the lighter out of his bag, making sure to cover it carefully so Mark couldn’t see what it was as he placed it into Johnny’s hands.

“I’ll give you a reenactment of how he bestowed this gift upon Doyoung.” Johnny announced and Kun let out a little wheeze. Mark looked both understandably confused, yet incredibly excited. Johnny smiled before stumbling slightly and getting uncomfortably close to Mark's face. 

“Mark,” he said, slurring his words slightly as he reached out to grip the back of Mark’s neck. Doyoung acutely remembered Yukhei doing the same thing that night, but it was an absolute wonder to him that Johnny remembered it too, especially considering the state he had been in. Both Kun and Doyoung had to apologize to far too many people because of Johnny’s enthusiastic, never ending, off key rendition of some American country song.

“Open your hands.” Mark did as he was told and Johnny gently placed the lighter on Mark’s upturned palms before moving them so they cupped each other. He then brought both of his own hands to cover Mark’s and moved them up to press a light kiss against his knuckles. 

“Oh my god.” Mark whispered and Doyoung watched Johnny struggle not to break character as Kun cackled. 

“Use this gift well.” Johnny told him. “With great power comes great responsibility.” and with that he walked away, leaving Mark to take a look at the grimy neon green lighter settled in his palms. 

“That made me feel like an anime protagonist.” Mark finally said after a moment of silence, a concerning amount of awe lacing his voice. 

“And that’s _exactly_ why I have been wearing this for a month.” Kun mused as he held up his left hand once again to show off the plastic, definitely child sized, ring situated on his pinky. 

Doyoung remembered that night too. There was a club and dancing and Junmyeon from accounting desperately trying to keep Sehun from editing from trying to prove that he could fit his entire fist in his mouth. Also Yukhei sticking his hand down a storm drain in order to give Kun “the prize”. It had been incredibly dramatic and mildly touching. At least to Doyoung who had been hanging off Johnny, close to tears for a good five minutes before the incident. 

“And the reason there’s a street sign sitting at the front of my apartment.” Johnny added on. 

“Yukhei gave you a street sign?” Kun questioned. 

That was a night Doyoung had not been there for. And it was probably for the best seeing as Yukhei had forgone his usual trash hunting in order to find a much bigger present. 

“I watched him wrestle it out of the ground.” Johnny said proudly. “It was illegal as fuck, but I was too drunk to fear the law.” 

“I don’t think you ever fear the law.” Doyoung muttered.

“If I did, I wouldn’t be wanted for tax evasion in 24 states.”

“What?” Doyoung asked.

“What?” Johnny answered. 

“So that’s why you’re in Korea.” Mark said, his eyes wide as he pointed at Johnny. 

Johnny stared Mark down and didn’t even blink as he said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” before walking out of the studio. 

Everything was quiet for far too long before Kun clapped his hands and ordered everyone to work. 

  
  


Around 10:45, the model for the day, Mingyu, arrived on set with some juicy new gossip about his roommate, a bag full of baked goods, and his boyfriend. A boyfriend that Doyoung couldn’t have been more relieved to see.

Jaehyun was Doyoung’s only close friend when he was sixteen and wanted to crawl out of his own skin. They had made it through high school together, then gotten into different colleges, but ultimately Jaehyun still remained one of the depressingly few people Doyoung found himself close with. He wasn’t going to complain though. Jaehyun was a good friend. A little too perceptive sometimes and other times a little too oblivious, but still good. 

“You didn’t eat this morning, did you?” Jaehyun asked as he and Doyoung sat on the prop bench Johnny had moved to the far corner of the studio almost a year ago. Doyoung—who was too busy devouring the honey bread he had taken from Mingyu’s delivery to properly answer—only hummed in response. Thank god for Mingyu and his penchant for feeding the crew everytime he participated in a NC shoot. 

“I had to deal with a broken shower.” Doyoung said once he had chewed enough to have understandable words leave his mouth. 

“Why didn’t you fix it after work?” Jaehyun asked, taking a bite of his own croissant. 

Doyoung rolled his eyes. “It was nasty. I wanted the plumber in today so I can actually shower tomorrow.”

Jaehyun hummed. “Makes sense.”

“Don’t you have a class to be in or something?” Doyoung asked and Jaehyun shrugged as he stared at the floor with one of his signature blank looks.

“Class was canceled and I was bored.” there was a long pause. “And Gyu said he’s doing fancy stuff today.” 

“I knew it.” Doyoung grinned.

“I can’t catch him in a suit at home. What else am I supposed to do?” Jaehyun sighed, running his hand through his hair as his face began to turn a shade of red.

“If you said he looked good in a suit, he’d never wear anything else.” Doyoung said, giving Jaehyun a comforting pat on the shoulder. “He’s like a dog. You can see his tail wag whenever you give him an ounce of praise.” 

As if on cue, Mingyu glanced in their direction, his eyebrows furrowing as he saw Jaehyun’s distress. However the second Jaehyun gave him a gentle smile and a little wave, Mingyu’s face melted into a wide grin and he waved back enthusiastically. Very puppy-like. 

Suddenly, Mingyu began shooting very aggressive finger hearts in Jaehyun’s direction and Jaehyun responded by wriggling around like he was riddled with holes from a high power heart machine gun. Doyoung just thought he looked kind of dumb, but in a weird happy way that made Doyoung’s heart full. He was glad Jaehyun found somebody like Mingyu. 

Mingyu was like a battery to Jaehyun, keeping him awake and attentive even at times where Doyoung was sure Jaehyun’s brain would be on another planet in any other company. But Jaehyun listened to Mingyu. Maybe even more than he listened to Doyoung. 

And it was clear to see that Mingyu was just as enamored with his stinky frat boy of a boyfriend in return by the way his face lit up whenever he was in Jaehyun’s presence. That and the fact that Jaehyun had to silence his phone when he was out with Doyoung because Mingyu liked to send him every funny thing he came across on twitter. Which was a lot.

The heart shoot out finally ended when Mingyu was dragged into the makeup chair to have his hair done and Doyoung couldn’t have been more grateful. Those three minutes had been the longest of his life. 

“Looks like things are going well.” Doyoung muttered and Jaehyun’s face broke into an almost cartoonishly dopey grin as he stared lovingly at Mingyu.

“Yeah.” 

“Are you thinking about moving in with him?” Doyoung asked and Jaehyun shook his head. 

“Not right now. Me and Sicheng’s apartment is kinda the perfect distance from the campus. Gyu lives all the way in Sutaek-dong and I don’t want to make the commute.” Jaehyun explained and Doyoung nodded along. “Off topic, but you smell like coffee.” Jaehyun said offhandedly and Doyoung scowled. 

He had almost forgotten about the incident as well as the bubblegum haired pretty boy who had caused the mess. It was hard to forget a face like that, but somehow Doyoung had. God, now he was thinking about him again. 

Doyoung groaned. “Don’t get me started. Some asshole had the nerve to dump his cappuccino on me then run off without an apology.” he watched as Jaehyun’s face scrunched up in sympathy.

“That’s rough, buddy.” he said and gave Doyoung a hearty pat on the shoulder. 

“At least you’re here to listen to me bitch about it.”

Jaehyun did one of his little bread smiles and gave Doyoung’s shoulder a warm squeeze before putting his hands in his lap and beginning to pick at a cuticle absentmindedly. Doyoung hated when he did that. 

“You need to find more people to bitch to.” he said and Doyoung couldn’t help the ‘ _here we go again’_ that passed through his head. “What are you gonna do when I’m a doctor and too busy saving lives and buying Mingyu gucci and,” Jaehyun paused for a second, eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remember a word. “Caviar,” _That was it._ “To pay attention to you?” 

“Call you in the middle of an operation to bitch.” Doyoung scoffed, gently pulling Jaehyun’s hand away so he’d stop picking at his cuticles. It bounced right back like it was magnetic. Doyoung made a face. 

“I’m serious though. You gotta branch out.” Jaehyun said. 

“I’m fine, Jae.” he said firmly, hoping that his friend would take the hint and change the subject. But Jaehyun seemed to be in one of his oblivious moods. Or was distracted with the view. 

Afterall, he was staring straight ahead at Mingyu who was just about glowing under the warm light of the makeup mirror. Whatever eyeshadow he had on shimmered slightly and his dirty blond hair had been brushed up over his forehead. 

Doyoung could understand why Jaehyun was staring. Mingyu was a favorite at the company for a reason. 

Doyoung grabbed the hand Jaehyun was using to peel his torn cuticles away to get his attention. It made Jaehyun snap out of his stupid lovesick spell just enough to spare Doyoung a glance and continue the conversation. 

“I just know you’re _lonely_ ,” Doyoung bristled at that word. He hated that word. “And I think you need more friends. Or even like… a _partner_.” See that was even worse. 

Doyoung didn’t want a partner. Jaehyun knew that. That’s why he had hesitated. Doyoung felt his stomach turn slightly at the thought of another relationship. 

“Jaehyun.” 

“I’m serious, hyung. Going out with someone would be nice.” 

“ _Jaehyun_.” 

“I know last time didn’t go well,” Doyoung spotted a half full cup of water sitting on the table next to the bench. “But I think it’s kinda stupid not to try again.” It was within arms reach. “You just gotta get back out there and face whatever you have against dating.” Doyoung would apologize for this later. “What could go-” A yelp escaped Jaehyun’s lips as Doyoung poured water all over his lap. 

“Shit.” Doyoung said, trying to keep the immediate regret he felt out of his voice. 

Jaehyun's eyes drifted down to the empty plastic cup still in Doyoung’s hand, then shot back up to meet Doyoung’s, confused and a little betrayed. Doyoung maybe even spotted a hint of _the thirst for revenge_ mixed in there, but he wasn’t exactly keen on finding out. 

“I’ll go get you some napkins.” Doyoung said as he scrambled to get up and away from Jaehyun. The weird feeling in his stomach faded the farther he got from his friend. Farther from the conversation of loneliness and dating. He wasn’t lonely. He was fine. Jaehyun was just unreasonably worried.

“What’d he say to deserve the water?” Kun asked once Doyoung had begun stocking up on napkins at the food table. He was leant up against the table with a styrofoam cup of shitty coffee—probably brewed and delivered by Donghyuck, who had not been spotted by Doyoung all morning despite his job to bring the _whole_ crew coffee—and had a direct view of the bench where Jaehyun sat looking miserable. Doyoung’s face burned with embarrassment. 

“It’s a game.” he lied through his teeth and Kun just nodded, not pushing more. 

Coffee boy popped into his head at that moment and Doyoung outwardly frowned even at the thought of his shitty highlighter hair. Everything actually would’ve been fine if he hadn’t ruined Doyoung’s shirt and worsened his morning tenfold. If he wasn’t in such a poor mood, he wouldn’t have poured water all over his friend in a childish attempt to escape a conversation. So maybe it was all that stranger’s fault. 

No. it _was_ his fault. 

Fuck that guy. 

Doyoung clenched his fists around the napkins as he stomped back to jaehyun, ignoring the concerned glance Kun gave him from over the rim of his coffee cup. 

“Sorry I poured water on you.” Doyoung muttered when he was face to face with Jaehyun. The younger made a face before taking the napkins out of Doyoung’s hand and patting himself somewhat dry. 

“Thanks.” Jaehyun told him with little to no sincerity in his voice. Doyoung figured he deserved that. 

“What do you think?” interrupted a loud voice as Mingyu slid up next to Doyoung and gave him a friendly shoulder bump to announce his presence. Doyoung curled away from the contact. He really wasn’t in the mood.

Mingyu wore a dark grey wool suit that hugged him tight in all the right places. His shoulders had never looked broader and his waist was absolutely snatched. It was obvious Jaehyun agreed by the way his eyes shone. Doyoung knew with the pair’s libido they’d be all over each other if not for the audience in the studio keeping them grounded. 

“Wow.” Jaehyun breathed and Mingyu’s ever present smile widened into something a little more dangerous, his canines sharp and daunting. Fearing for the worst, Doyoung placed himself directly in between the tall man and Jaehyun who was still entranced and drooling over his new look. 

“Mingyu-ssi, the set’s ready and I do have a meeting to be at in a couple hours.” Doyoung said and Mingyu blinked before smiling sheepishly. 

“Ah. Yes.” 

“Will you go talk to Mark so he can get the lights set?” Mingyu nodded.

“Gyu,” Jaehyun called before his boyfriend could walk away. “You should wear suits more often.” Doyoung didn’t miss the way Mingyu instantly straightened up and put his chest out, nor the hungry glint in his eye. Jaehyun had the same look on his face. _Gross_.

Doyoung turned and walked away the second Jaehyun bit his lip, but the quiet “Just for me.” that left the younger’s lips was not missed. 

Yeah, Doyoung definitely regretted introducing them to each other.

  
  


The shoot went quickly, Mingyu’s main distraction leaving a few minutes after Doyoung started taking pictures so he could get to his 1pm class. Jaehyun being gone made Doyoung feel far less tense as he stopped having to worry about Jaehyun making heart eyes in Mingyu’s direction from behind the camera and causing Mingyu to smile. 

Soon Doyoung was on his way to the third floor with Kun, Johnny, and Dejun—the new intern Kun was mentoring—for a meeting with the pair of designers who would have their garments showcased in next month’s issue of Neo Culture. They had both worked with NC separately, but their streetwear collab, _Treasure_ , was the fresh casual thing NC needed to showcase. They had done far too many formal, expensive shoots in the past couple months. Doyoung was tired of the similar sets and he knew Kun was too. Hopefully they’d get the chance to do something a little more artsy. Doyoung had met Choi Hyunsuk and Kim Hongjoong several times prior and he expected them to be on board with whatever colorful retro set Kun was bound to suggest. They always had been a little ambitious. 

“Very excited to work with you again, Doyoung-ssi.” Hongjoong beamed as he shook Doyoung’s hand with vigor.

“Likewise.” Doyoung told the strawberry haired man as he glanced over to where Johnny was getting a similarly excited handshake from Hongjoong’s blueberry haired partner. Kun had already sat down and was in the midst of spreading a sea of papers around his laptop in organized chaos with the help of Dejun. Hyunsuk went to hook his laptop up to the big screen so they could take a look at sketches and physical clothing. That left Doyoung to a brief but heated conversation on the topic of censorship that had him and Johnny nodding in agreement as Hongjoong passionately went off about artistic expression and human sexuality. 

Kun officially called the meeting to action only minutes into the discussion, but Doyoung felt much smarter as he sat down in one of the comfortable conference rolling chairs and listened to Hyunsuk go into color theory in relation to one of the outfits chosen to be photographed. He and Kun bounced back and forth about what solid color would go with neon green and black or if they wanted to choose a photo background instead. Hongjoong suggested the shoot be outside, but Kun sadly told him there was a mildly high chance of rain for when they had set the date. 

Doyoung took the time to space out and think about life, occasionally adding minor things to the conversation, like his desire to use a fisheye lens. 

Eventually his mind drifted to the man from the morning. Just mildly. A little thought about his high cheek bones here. Another one about his pretty little frown there. Then a big thought about how this man had quite literally poured coffee all over Doyoung then split as fast as he could. His long legs carrying—

No. Absolutely not.

Doyoung had to stop thinking about this man and his stupid perfect face and nice hands and pretty eyes… 

_Jesus fucking Christ._

“I heard you did street casting this month.” Doyoung heard hongjoong say as he tuned back into the conversation slightly. Okay, they were on models. He would be needed in a bit. 

“Yeah! Yerim pulled some great ones.” Johnny said excitedly as he wiggled the HDMI cable into his laptop. Soon a number of faces appeared on screen. A large number of faces. 

And yet Doyoung’s eyes were glued to one very familiar flamingo haired bitch in the left corner. 

“I’m more interested in new talent.” Hyunsuk commented and Doyoung watched in horror as Johnny clicked away more than half of the options and that asshole was still on the table. There were only twelve people still pulled up. The chances of coffee boy actually scoring the job was far too high for Doyoung’s liking. 

“Can we start with the guys?” Hongjoong requested and suddenly there were only five faces on the screen. Including coffee boy. Doyoung’s mouth fell open. It was like the universe had a vendetta against him. 

“He’s interesting.” Hongjoong said, pointing to the left of the screen. _No no no no no-_ “Lee Taeyong.” Doyoung’s jaw clenched as he read the name under coffee boy’s picture. _Taeyong_. Of course. Of course he has a cute name. 

Doyoun dug his nails into the armrest on his chair. Hard. 

“Do you have more pictures?” Hyunsuk asked and Johnny shook his head. 

“He came in to sign a contract and get headshots today. This is it.” 

“Oh, so he’s _new_ new.” Hongjoong said. “Does he have instagram?”

“I wouldn’t know.” Johnny shrugged and Hongjoong pursed his lips.

“He is pretty.” Hyunsuk mused. Hongjoong nodded and Doyoung felt bile in his throat.

“I like his eyes.” said Dejun, the first words to come out of his mouth since the meeting had started. Kun looked like a proud parent. Doyoung wanted to reach over the table and give Dejun a little smack. Not too hard, but shocking enough to teach him to keep his mouth shut. 

“But he’s _new_ new.” Doyoung suddenly blurted and everyone in the room turned to stare at him. “What if he doesn’t turn up well on camera. I’d prefer working with someone with a bit more experience.” 

“No offense Doyoung-ssi, but his headshots are gorgeous. He turns up well on camera.” Hongjoong argued, but Doyoung wasn’t ready to let go that easy. Coffee boy wasn’t going to win.

Doyoung stood up and leaned across the table, closer to Hongjoong. “Again, I’d prefer working with someone more experienced.” Hongjoong frowned. 

“Doyoung.” Johnny snapped and Doyoung went rigid as he faced the elder man. “You’re not at liberty to choose the model.” every syllable was sharp as it rolled off Johnny’s tongue. 

“But-”

“ _Doyoung_.” The authority in Johnny’s voice made Doyoung go quiet as he took a good look at the dirt on his sneakers instead of making eye contact with his senior. Even then he could still feel the slight annoyance rolling off Johnny in waves. 

“Sorry.” Doyoung said quietly as he sunk back into his chair. Hongjoong glanced down at him with raised eyebrows and Doyoung quickly looked away. He knew he was acting childish and from the way Kun shook his head slightly, Doyoung could tell he agreed. Dejun just fixed him with a look of pity. 

Doyoung could not have wanted to sink into the floor more. 

“So, we are going with Lee Taeyong?” Kun asked, breaking the tense silence that had blanketed the room for a few long seconds. Johnny looked towards Hyunsuk and Hongjoong who nodded in unison, and when his eyes landed on Doyoung, Doyoung turned away, unable to hide the pout on his lips. “Okay great.”

 _Not great._ Doyoung thought. _Not great at all._

Doyoung didn’t add a single thing to the rest of the meeting, too busy quietly fuming over the decision to photograph Lee Taeyong. Not in a group either. No, no. Hyunsuk had the bright idea to give him a solo shoot because he was so pretty and apparently pretty boys get to ruin somebody’s day and face no repercussions. Just like that.

Doyoung kicked the center of the table. Kun glared at him until the shaking subsided. 

They left the meeting with six models chosen, two excited designers, one inspired set designer, one satisfied photography director, one indifferent intern, and Doyoung. Doyoung who was considering running into oncoming traffic. 

Now, Doyoung didn’t consider himself a petty person… but having to sit in the room while the asshole who spilled coffee on him that morning scored a high paying job (on his first try modeling) made Doyoung want to get hit by an suv and be too busy existing as a plaster mummy to photograph the shoot. 

Fuck Lee Taeyong. 

Seriously.

  
  


Doyoung slammed his apartment door behind him forcefully and kicked off his shoes so they hit the wall. He didn’t even bother putting his house slippers on before he was sinking into his couch with Jaehyun’s line ringing.

The phone clicked and Doyoung just went for it, fast and hard. “Jae I need to bitch and I need it now.” 

“Uhhhh,” said Jaehyun and it was then Doyoung heard the restaurant ambience from the other side of the phone. 

“You’re not home, are you.” Doyoung sighed and Jaehyun cleared his throat. 

“I thought I told you I was out with Gyu tonight.”

“Can I come over after?” Doyoung asked hopefully.

“Seokmin’s out tonight so we were planning to go back to his place…” Jaehyun sounded mildly guilty and that just made Doyoung feel guilty in return. 

“It’s fine.” Doyoung told Jaehyun in his most reassuring voice. “You should get back to him.” 

“Sorry.” Jaehyun mumbled 

Doyoung smiled through the disappointment he felt in his chest as he tried to keep his voice positive for his friend. “Don’t be. Now get out of here. Tell Mingyu-ssi I say hi.”

“I will.” Jaehyun said. “Bye.”

“Bye.”

Doyoung’s apartment was quiet. Too quiet. He almost wanted to put on some music, but his body felt heavy as he laid back down on the couch, getting lost in thought as he stared up at his ceiling lamp that looked like a boob. 

Maybe Jaehyun was right. He was lonely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> johnathan suh is wanted for tax fraud in idaho, colorado, new mexico, hawaii, south carolina, north carolina, pennsylvania, montana, connecticut, tennessee, wisconsin, nevada, louisiana, vermont, ohio, texas, new jersey, alabama, georgia, rode island, washington, north dakota, arkansas, and florida.  
>   
> you can catch me on twt @wonbits !


	2. Vogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You know when you try really hard to let bygones be bygones and forgive somebody for something instead of stewing over it and acting petty? Doyoung should. But it's not really working out how he would've hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for those who went and ready my first chapter pre me posting this, a little heads up. i made the decision to change hendery out for xiaojun in this fic. that means the intern who sat in on the treasure meeting was dejun and the man at the front desk is now mr jeno. everything's been edited, but i didn't want confusion in case the first chapter wasn't reread.
> 
> also a big thanks to the homie @crystalana for editing this not once but twice ily

Doyoung swore he felt his heart seize up the minute he walked into studio B, at 8:15am sharp on a warm Monday morning, and made direct eye contact with the man who had been living in his head—rent free—for the duration of almost two weeks. Two weeks that had definitely taken ten years off of his lifespan. 

Doyoung loved working with Neo Culture, he really did, but his jobs here only paid so many bills. Freelance stuff covered water and electricity. Specifically wedding shoots. Doyoung didn’t really hire himself out as a wedding photographer directly, but sometimes you get asked to do a shoot for a friend’s cousin who tells all her friends, who tell their friends, and then Doyoung ends up attending at least six weddings a month to take pictures of the same scene repeatedly. They were good photos… just not particularly exciting or worthy of the immense swell of pride Doyoung got when he saw his photography in Neo Culture. Specifically the more artsy spreads he worked directly with Kun on. 

But again, taking pictures of attractive people in expensive clothing didn’t have him flush with cash, and there was an ever growing list of couples who needed their perfect spring wedding and perfect photos to go with it. So Doyoung had spent his time since the initial Treasure meeting either going over plans with Kun in the office, emailing back and forth with Hyunsuk and Hongjoong, or seated next to some bride’s aunt who kept getting a little too close for comfort. And even though Doyoung hated attending weddings because of pretentious middle aged relatives trying to sell him off to their children, messy behind the scenes conversations with clients, and awful party playlists… well, let's just say the happy couple’s parents were typically well off and so were their children. And although Doyoung was a step away from going forth and eating the rich, those extra zeros at the end of his account balance were kind of sexy. 

However, those zeros couldn’t make him feel any better when he dragged himself into the office, for the first shoot in two weeks he was actually excited about, only to have the _singular_ bad part show up directly in his line of vision as soon as he opened the studio doors. 

“Taeyong-ssi, we’ll figure something out. Don’t stress.” 

“I just-”

“You didn’t know and it’s okay.” Kun assured the other man… who’s hair was no longer pink. _Shit_. 

Doyoung rudely butted right into the middle of Kun and Taeyong’s conversation and asked a question he already had the answer to. “What happened?” Kun just sighed and pointed up at Taeyong’s freshly dyed greenish blue hair while Taeyong fixed him with a very confused look. 

Specifically the type of confused look that screams _“Do I know you?”_

Taking into account the way Taeyong’s eyebrows were scrunched hard enough together to make the skin between them wrinkle up like a raisin, Doyoung doubted he even recognized him from the coffee incident. It would be a miracle if somehow he had managed to keep Doyoung’s face in mind, especially after running off the way he did. 

Either way, the problem was not if Taeyong remembered him, but the fact that Taeyong’s hair had gone from the nice soft pink that both the clothes and set had been tailored to complement, to a shade on the other side of the color wheel. 

“We can’t shoot with this.” Doyoung said bluntly as he narrowed his eyes at Taeyong. Part of him expected the other man to glower back, but the look of sheer panic and guilt that flashed across his pretty face made Doyoung almost feel bad for being so upfront. Almost. “His hair’s literally the color of our set.”

“I know.” Kun grunted, taking a long look towards his creation. 

Doyoung knew how he felt. 

Doyoung watched as Kun bit his lip in worry of his hard work going to waste just because of one model who didn’t think dying his hair a completely different shade would cause problems. 

“Fuck.” Doyoung hissed, this time shooting a full on glare in Taeyong’s direction, and getting just about the same intense stare in response. 

“Look, I’m trying to think up new things. But this is the studio we can use today and the only full set we have done.” Kun explained, as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He gave a tired look towards the turquoise box of a set with various 3D dark grey shapes placed on the floor around a large blob shaped mirror. It was simple, but eye-catching and had been designed particularly so that Taeyong’s hair would stand out, therefore his facial features as well.

Kun shook his head. “I can’t change the blue no matter how many gels we get in there because it’s too saturated. I should’ve taken Johnny’s suggestion to not paint the set.”

“The paint looks better. Johnny-hyung’s taste is for shit.” Doyoung told Kun, who nodded.

“Which is why I ignored him.”

“Because of the paint? Or because he’s tacky?”

“Bit of both. Mainly the latter.” Doyoung snickered.

“Um,” Taeyong interrupted and Doyoung’s little bubble of joy popped at the reminder of his presence. The change in tempo just annoyed him further, as if Taeyong’s hair wasn’t enough. “Does this mean you can’t take pictures today? Or-” 

“Why are you even here?” Doyoung snapped. “Your call time was at ten.” The look Kun gave Doyoung was nothing short of scathing. Doyoung pretended he couldn’t see it. 

“I didn’t want to be late…” 

Doyoung scoffed. “Okay well, show up ten minutes before your call then. Not an hour and a half before.” Taeyong’s stance immediately turned defensive as he crossed his arms over his chest and turned his eyes to the ground. Doyoung took it as a sign that he had won this argument, but when Taeyong looked back up there was a new fire burning behind his eyes. 

“Maybe I wanted to help set up. Or do something more than standing around and looking pretty. I don’t know.” 

“You’re paid to do that. You’re not paid for helping out. And, frankly, you don’t seem like you’d be much help anyway.”

An arm was slung across Doyoung’s shoulders. “Hey Doyoung?” Although Kun’s words were said oddly cheerfully, they still sent a chill up Doyoung’s spine. “Keep it to yourself.”

“Kun, I-”

“Don’t do this right now.” Kun’s voice was rough and dead serious, but Doyoung still wanted to challenge him. He opened his mouth to say something, but Kun squeezed his shoulder and the quick but painful sensation made him forget every word he wanted to say. 

“Taeyong-ssi, we’ll set up a new date. I can talk to people to switch some things around. The spread was going to be a three day process no matter what.” 

“Ah.” Taeyong said, eyes flicking around the set nervously.

“If you’re worried about the set, I have plans for two others. Either would work with your hair.” 

Doyoung had always admired Kun’s ability to stay rational and professional in any situation. It was one he wished he had more of. Doyoung had always been easy to read according to past partners. Sometimes it was useful, but other times it led to arguments. Especially when Doyoung’s words conveyed one thing and his face or tone conveyed another. Right now he could recognize that no matter what he tried to tell Taeyong or Kun, it would come out sounding snappy. It was better to let Kun figure things with Taeyong out. 

Doyoung pushed quickly out from under Kun’s arm so he could get to a more comfortable, less in the way, position. Taeyong tracked Doyoung’s entire move with his eyes and unabashedly stared when Doyoung settled a good three feet behind Kun. 

It was a strange stare. Not one of animosity or deja vu like how Taeyong had looked at him before. No. It was nothing like that. This stare made Doyoung feel exposed. He crossed his arms over his chest as some form of protection and looked towards Kun’s shoes, hoping Taeyong’s eyes wouldn’t linger on him further. 

Doyoung stayed there for the rest of the conversation, only looking up to give Taeyong a pathetic bow before the model left the studio. Then it was just him and Kun. 

“You remember how someone dumped coffee on me last week before the shoot with Mingyu?” Doyoung asked and Kun narrowed his eyes before giving a nod. “That was him.”

Doyoung had really expected understanding or sympathy… Kun didn’t give him anything close to either. Just an exhausted glance. “So?” 

“I just wanted you to know that he has not made a _great_ impression on me.” Doyoung explained and Kun only narrowed his eyes further. 

“Doyoung, I love you,” Kun started and Doyoung already knew what was coming. “But I could care less.” Predicting Kun’s words didn’t make them sting any less. “Taeyong-ssi is promising and a hard worker. We’re lucky to have found him and be able to work with him. But you’re acting petty over something that happened last week and causing _very_ unneeded tension.”

“He just fucking bolted instead of apologizing **_and_ **he obviously couldn’t bother to remember me.” Doyoung argued. 

“Yeah, that’s shitty, but you need to get over it.”

“What I need is an apology.”

“You said it yourself; he doesn’t remember you. If you want an apology, tell that to his face or move on.”

Doyoung blanched at the idea of confronting Taeyong. “I want _him_ to apologize.”

Kun sighed and ran a hand down his face. “Doyoung, acting like a dick to Taeyong-ssi isn’t going to jog his memory or make him apologize.”

“I’m not-”

“You purposely started an argument with him earlier.” Kun said bluntly. Doyoung wanted to argue… but Kun was right. Kun was usually right. 

Doyoung’s next words were much quieter as he tried to keep a little spark of anger lit, just because of pride. “He just pisses me off.” 

“Still,” Kun said as he placed two hands on Doyoung’s shoulders and held him at arm's length. “You need to either learn to diffuse that annoyance or pretend he doesn’t. That’s show business.” Doyoung let out a dry laugh in response to Kun’s joke.

“That’s show business.” he repeated, heart sinking into his stomach. Kun grinned and gave him a hearty pat to the shoulder before taking his phone out and looking through his calendar. 

“Okay, well Yuta-hyung was scheduled to come in on Thursday and he has a similar build to Taeyong-ssi.”

“Yuta-hyung’s shoulders are a bit broader, his waist isn’t as small, and he has a longer torso. But they are the same height… I think.” Doyoung said off handedly, only trailing off because Kun’s eyebrows had shot up and there was a small smile tugging at his lips. 

“Very specific.” he mused and Doyoung’s face began to burn. 

“Shut up.”

Kun didn’t listen. Of course. “I can’t believe you flirt like a ten year old boy.”

“I _don’t_.” Doyoung insisted, but Kun just gave him a wink before dialing Yuta and walking away to let Doyoung stew in his feelings. 

The events of Monday had luckily resolved themselves with Yuta being available to come in at the last minute and fit in the outfits originally picked for Taeyong. Once Doyoung worked past the internal stress caused by Kun, he was also able to calm down and focus. The result was some stunning photos that had Doyoung wondering why they hadn’t chosen for Yuta to model those clothes on the blue set originally. Ryujin and Chaeryeong had come in later for their own shoot and that process had been quick and easy. Just like all the shoots for the day were supposed to be. Taeyong had been the one odd cog in the machine that had caused it to briefly break down.

Doyoung just hoped there wouldn’t be another breakdown seeing as it was now Thursday, close to a half hour past Taeyong’s call time, and the blueberry bitch was nowhere to be seen.

“He’s not going to show.” Doyoung told Johnny as they flipped through Monday’s pictures. They both had reviewed the shots several times over, but doing this was a “productive” time waster. Not a stupid one like what Donghyuck and Dejun were up to on set. Doyoung regretted ever lending them his personal camera. He was not keen on flipping through hundreds of pictures of Donghyuck posing in the most uncomfortable ways he and Dejun could think of. 

“Remember when you said that about Yukhei.” Johnny reminded Dououng and Doyoung couldn’t help the way his face scrunched up in displeasure. He remembered that day all too well. “Even after being in a holding cell overnight, he made it in.” 

“Forty minutes late.”

“Yeah but being in jail is a valid excuse for that. Plus he got hit by that car on his way over.”

Doyoung rolled his eyes. “That was a bullshit story and you know it.”

“Dude, he had massive roadburn on his cheek, a black eye, and his jeans were fucking ruined. It tracks.”

“Was this supposed to instil confidence in me that Taeyoung-ssi will show?” Doyoung bit out. “Because we ended up postponing the shoot and taking Yukhei to the ER to get, what? Sixteen stitches over his eyebrow? So not only was he late, but he got the entire shoot cancelled.” 

“But,” Johnny said with an air of confidence that Doyoung bristled at. “He showed up and that’s what counts.”

“No.” Doyoung said firmly. 

Doyoung had planned on going back to absentmindedly looking at the photos and ignoring Johnny when the studio doors burst open to reveal a very sweaty out of breath Lee Taeyong. “I’m so sorry.” he wheezed and basically folded himself in half in a bow. Doyoung scoffed and looked away. Johnny however got up to greet him.

“You must be Taeyong-ssi!” he said cheerfully and went to shake Taeyong’s hand enthusiastically. “Doyoung never shuts up about you.” 

Saying that Doyoung _panicked_ is a bit of an understatement. In that moment, Doyoung felt his entire life end, his body get thrown into the great cosmos, then hurled back to earth at a speed that caused him to burst into flames.

He tried to exert a little bit of the all consuming embarrassment he felt by chucking a nearby highlighter at the back of Johnny’s head. The marker missed, sailing slightly to the left of Johnny’s ear and clattering to the floor near Taeyong’s foot. Johnny froze for all of a second. Maybe the longest second of Doyoung’s life as he waited for the elder to turn back and give him one of those looks that promised suffering. But he didn’t. Instead he did something worse. 

“I’m sure you know _Doyoungie_.” Johnny said in a voice so disgustingly sweet that gave Doyoung the shivers. But the way Johnny beckoned him into the conversation with a wink and wave caused a far more uncomfortable feeling to blanket Doyoung. 

“Taeyong-ssi.” Doyoung tried to keep his voice as cold and flat as possible while addressing the blue haired man. He didn’t even bother to properly bow, only giving a shallow nod. 

Taeyong returned the favor. “Doyoung-ssi.”

“You’re late.” Doyoung mentioned and Taeyong clenched his jaw slightly.

“My dog had a vet appointment. It went long.”

“I see.” The tension that blanketed the room was thick and suffocating, but Doyoung felt like he was too deep in it to quit now, even with Kun’s very clear request at the front of his mind. “Well, aim to come in earlier next time.” 

“I typically am very punctual Doyoung-ssi. The vet appointment I scheduled for my dog _three weeks ago_ just happened to overlap with the shoot we scheduled this Monday.”

“You said you were available at this time.”

“The appointment ran long.”

“You’ve said that.” 

“You don’t seem to be listening.” 

Johnny clapped his hands. “Okay! Well we’re short on time so- DONGHYUCK GET OVER HERE!” Taeyong visibly flinched as Johnny yelled and Doyoung almost wanted to tell him that everything was fine and that Johnny and Donghyuck just communicated like this. But he didn’t. Because he didn’t want to. 

Donghyuck let out a groan that was both audible and visible in the way he threw his head back and dropped his shoulders from the other side of the studio before meandering over, breaking into a jog when Johnny told him to hurry it up. Dejun followed the other at his own pace. 

“What?” 

Johnny placed a big hand on the back of Donghyuck’s head and made the younger bow in Taeyong’s direction. “Taeyoung-ssi, this is Lee Donghyuck. Hyuck, this is Lee Taeyong, our model for today and hopefully shoots in the future.” A winning smile was flashed in Taeyong’s direction and Doyoung almost wanted to kick Johnny for being cheesy. “And this is Dejun,” Johnny started, Dejun bowing politely without any forceful assistance. “He’s Kun’s intern.”

“Nice to meet you.” Dejun said politely and Donghyuck made a noise of contempt. Johnny roughly nudged him.

“Anyways, Taeyong-ssi, Duckie here is gonna get you all set with wardrobe. Then you can head over to the makeup chair and talk to Sooyoung-ah.”

“Alright.” 

Johnny looked down at Donghyuck. “Do your job well and I’ll buy you lunch.”

Donghyuck did his job well. One might say exceptionally well. He was polite and courteous, tending to Taeyong’s every whim—they were really more like minor requests as Taeyong seemed to be hesitant to ask for too much help—without any snark or sass. The ease at which Doyoung could actually set up his camera due to Hyuck actually doing what he was paid for was incredible and had Doyoung reminding himself to use lunch as a motivator for the next time he needed Donghyuck to put effort into a shoot. 

Doyoung soon forgot about Taeyong as he looked through the camera lenses, trying to find the one had used on Monday, but it was nowhere in sight. The Nikon's settings hadn’t been messed with since Monday and he had already made the trip up to Johnny’s office for The Good Tripod™, so Doyoung simply had nothing else to do but look for the goddamn camera lense. 

“John-hyung!”

“Yes!”

“Where’s the thirty five milimeter!”

“Should be on the shelf!” 

Doyoung sighed before shouting back, “It’s not!” Johnny gave him an unhelpful shrug and went back to adjusting lights with Mark. 

“Do you need help looking?” a voice asked from behind and Doyoung whipped around only to come face to face with Lee Taeyong, now dressed in a black, white, and pink tie-dye shirt with a diamond design over the breast area, and a pair of baggy black cargo pants that were absolutely covered in white paint splatter. A black military beret was slouched on his head, placed right behind slightly curled blue bangs. He looked nice. Especially with the numerous rings on his fingers. 

That was the extent of praise Doyoung was willing to hand to Lee Taeyong. Nothing more. 

Doyoung waved Taeyong off, making sure not to look at him any longer. “It’s fine.”

Taeyong didn’t leave.

“I don’t really have anything else to do…” Taeyong trailed off as Doyoung sent him a look. “I’m done with makeup and everything so-” Doyoung knew what he was implying; that Doyoung was holding up the shoot because he couldn’t find his fucking camera lense. Leave it to Lee Taeyong to make Doyoung feel shitty, as always.

“Just go make yourself familiar with the set or something.” Doyoung bit out, trying to ignore the stare Taeyong was giving him. God he hated this.

The blue haired man didn’t even bother to acknowledge Doyoung’s ask, just shot one more look in his direction before wandering off to talk to Dejun. Doyoung let out the long breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. Better to just get rid of Taeyong then risk getting snappy with him. Kun had probably told somebody on set to keep an eye on how Doyoung interacted with Taeyong, and Doyoung wasn’t looking forward to any sort of conversation with the Chinese man that involved Taeyong as a subject. Especially a negative one. 

Best to just stay away if he didn’t think he could stay out of it. 

Doyoung took one last look towards Taeyong, who’s back was now turned in his direction. He had incredible posture, Doyoung noted. And a nice waist. 

“Oh, motherfucker.” Doyoung muttered when his eyes drifted slightly to the right, only to spot his missing lens sitting on the edge of the snack table where Taeyong stood. Doyoung scowled. It looked like Taeyong had managed to help him find the goddamn thing even if he hadn’t meant to and Doyoung hadn’t wanted him to. Maybe he was a little more helpful than Doyoung had given him credit for. 

Taeyong was undeniably talented. Or maybe it was because he was hot from every angle. Either way, Doyoung figured Hongjoong and Hyunsuk clearly had a point in choosing him to model. He was near perfect.

 _Near_.

There were still a few things Taeyong was stiff with; namely connecting his facial expressions to his body language. 

Per Doyoung’s requests, Taeyong posed casually, shoulders slouched and hands in his pocket, but his face remained rigid. No matter how well these photos would turn out and how attractive Taeyong would look in them, the fact still remained that this wasn’t a serious haute couture type shoot. The photos were supposed to reflect the fun but comfortable nature of Treasure. 

On top of that, Taeyong’s photos needed to have people thinking about how they’d like to wear those outfits. Not _exclusively_ about how attractive Taeyong was. Because all Doyoung could see right now was the man in front of him looking hot and brooding. Not the clothing he wore—which was supposed to be the centerpiece of the whole shabang. But of course Taeyong’s sharp features overpowered the clothing. Why wouldn’t they. 

“Taeyong-ssi.” Doyoung called out and Taeyong’s eyes flicked up from the camera lens to look into Doyoung’s own. Doyoung swallowed nervously under the other man’s sharp gaze, but whatever had possessed Taeyong while Doyoung’s shutter was snapping away left his body quickly. Eyes getting wide and curious as he pursed his lips slightly. 

“Yes?”

“Your facial expressions are too intense.” Doyoung was as blunt as he could be, but the statement had Taeyong looking confused and minorly offended. Doyoung almost rolled his eyes. _Almost._ Instead he decided to be helpful and abandoned the camera to join Taeyong up on set. 

“What can you assume about me from my clothes?” Doyoung started, gesturing to the white and blue striped button up who’s sleeves were messily rolled to his elbows and the dark wash skinny jeans he wore. “Do they make you feel any particular sort of way?” 

“Well…” Taeyong hesitated, “I guess you seem fashionable?”

Doyoung shook his head. “I mean, do I look like I eat sleep and breath only in the gym? Or like I spend all my time playing video games? Stuff like that.”

“I don’t know. You seem pretty neat and put together, I guess. You think about your appearance and want to make good impressions on others.” Taeyong rambled. 

“Okay, now look at my face and piece it together with my clothes.” 

“You look tired. Really sharp. Serious. Your eye bags make me think that you work a little too hard and probably need to take some time off.” Taeyong told Doyoung, and Doyoung cringed internally at the description. He tried to keep his expression from falling as Taeyong’s words buried themselves deep in his chest. They were said with no malice, just a little bit of sympathy.

Doyoung couldn’t tell which he would’ve preferred. 

“What about what you’re wearing now?” Doyoung asked, pushing down a slew of nasty feelings that suddenly threatened to overtake him and capsize the first okay conversation he’d shared with Taeyong since their meeting. 

“It’s comfortable. Skater wear. Really loose and comfortable. Non restrictive. I feel like I should be out tagging buildings and clubbing with friends.” he laughed and Doyoung felt his skin tingle. 

“Can I tell you what I see in the photos we’ve already taken?” 

Taeyong blinked. “Of course.”

Doyoung didn’t hesitate for a second. “Your face says that you have too much on your mind. That maybe you can’t remember if you turned off the stove before leaving your house this morning. Or that you can’t stop thinking if you have your head tilted enough or your feet in the right place. Everything’s tight and you’re glaring at the camera.” If Taeyong had wanted Doyoung to sugar coat his words… well too bad. 

“I-” Doyoung cut Taeyong off quickly. 

“You’re selling these clothes to an audience of wannabe skaters and those who want to remain comfortable and casual trendy, yet still buy expensive, luxury fashion. But right now you look like you want to start a fight.”

Taeyong just about scoffed “You want me to look like I’m someone with money to blow and not a care in the world?”

“No.” Doyoung told him. “I want you to look like someone fearless. Like you picked these clothes up from a thrift store and tie dyed that shirt yourself and now you couldn’t be more stoked to show it off.”

“Doyoung-ssi, I’m not clear on how you do that.” Taeyong’s voice was strained with barely contained annoyance only covered by a veil of forced politeness. Doyoung was officially tired of playing teacher. Either Taeyong would figure it out, or they’d have shitty pictures on their hands. 

“Just smile, Taeyong-ssi.”

By the ninth photo taken, Taeyong did smile. 

He grinned and laughed at a bad joke Mark made—which had Doyoung furiously snapping photos—looking comfortable and confident in a way he hadn’t before. Requested poses turned into something more natural as Taeyong shot up a peace sign or stuck out a foot that Doyoung hadn’t specified should be moved. It was clear as day that Taeyong was having fun, even with the slightly apprehensive glances he shot Doyoung’s way when Doyoung ordered him to change something or move slightly. 

Doyoung had to admit… Taeyong was fun to photograph and he felt disappointment in his throat when there were enough photos and he had to pass Taeyong along to Johnny for the second half of the shoot. 

Doyoung wondered if Johnny would enjoy it as much as he did. 

Before Doyoung headed out he did his regular routine of thanking everyone on set for their work individually. It was a habit at this point, but Doyoung did feel strangely nervous as he approached Taeyong, whose face was glued to his phone while Sooyoung straightened out his bangs. 

“Thank you for your work.” Doyoung told the both of them, Sooyoung responded with a smile and a bow. But Taeyong gave him nothing but a low hum. Barely an acknowledgement.

Doyoung clenched his teeth, hard. Trying to catch Taeyong’s eyes in the mirror just so he could send a scalding glare at the other, but Taeyong didn’t give him the satisfaction. His eyes just stuck to the screen of his phone as he texted someone. In that moment Doyoung felt very intent on breaking any promise he had made to Kun and just spitting on Taeyong and walking out, letting the doors slam behind him. Maybe he’d even tell the director how their new model had a nasty attitude and shouldn’t be rehired for any other shoots. 

“Forget it.” Doyoung hissed quietly as he exited the studio, keeping his expression calm and placid so Johnny wouldn’t report anything amiss to Kun. He even managed a wave and smile towards Dejun as he passed by. The smile physically hurt his face, the anger rolling in his gut telling him to throw a fit and kick something. 

Doyoung just had to get out of this room. Then he was free to do whatever the fuck he wanted.

There were a lot of emotions pent up behind Doyoung’s facade. He was well aware of it. Well aware of the fact that ignoring it was only going to cause an explosion as well. It was something he had been telling himself for years to work on… but that was easier said than done. So the other solution to make sure his heart and brain didn’t clash in an epic war that left him an empty husk, was to drink until he couldn’t see straight, if at all. 

“Jaehyun, I’m coming over with soju and whatever you want from the convenience store.” Doyoung said into his phone the second the line clicked and Jaehyun’s monotone _“hello?”_ was heard. 

“Um ice cream? I guess?” Jaehyun’s confused tone carried through the line, but Doyoung was thankful the younger didn’t press questions. “Lemme see what Sicheng wants.” 

Ah. So Sicheng was home. Doyoung didn’t quite know how to feel about that. Jaehyun’s heavily muffled voice could be heard over the phone along with another quieter one for quite a long time before he went back to conversing with Doyoung. 

“He’s okay.” Jaehyun told Doyoung and Doyoung hummed, somewhat grateful that he wouldn’t have to spend extra money, even if it was just on snacks. 

“Great. I’ll see you in 30?”

“Cool cool. Oh and by the way I got chicken from work that me and Sicheng didn’t finish, so you eat that if you want.”

“Sounds good Jae-yah.”

“See ya.”

A half an hour later Doyoung stood inside Jaehyun and Sicheng’s apartment with one plastic bag dangerously close to breaking due to the weight of its contents as well as a second bag holding one carton of green tea ice cream and a bag of chips. 

“Wow.” Jaehyun breathed as Doyoung slammed the bags on the kitchen counter and at least two green glass bottles rolled out onto the surface. There were six more tucked in the bag. Doyoung wasn’t fucking around when it came to wanting to drink tonight and he knew Jaehyun always consumed a lot more soju than expected. Like, _a lot_ more.

Doyoung had always been jealous of how well Jaehyun handled his alcohol, but sometimes when Doyoung wanted the bad feelings to go away and stay away, he couldn’t have been more happy with being a lightweight.

“The chicken’s on the table.” Jaehyun said, pointing to the space in front of the couch in which a makeshift table had been set up using two bedside drawers. Sicheng sat at it, laptop propped up too far to be comfortable as his long legs stretched out under the table. There was nothing under his butt and nothing supporting his back which Doyoung was both cringing at and mildly impressed at how immaculate Sicheng’s posture was. 

When the chicken was mentioned, Sicheng looked up from his laptop to make eye contact with Doyoung and nodded. Doyoung had half a mind to nod back, or even bow, but instead he gave an awkward little two finger wave. Sicheng just looked back at his screen and began typing at a stupidly fast pace. 

“He’s got a paper due tomorrow.” Jaehyun explained.

“I thought he was a dance major?” Doyoung asked and Jaehyun nodded.

“Double majoring in psychology.” 

“That’s cool.”

“He said he’ll give me free therapy.” 

“God knows you need it.”

“Shut up, hyung.” Jaehyun snorted and went to sit near Sicheng. The second he reached for what was left of the chicken he had brought home from his delivery job though, Doyoung took three soju bottles into his hands and scurried right after him, fearing for how much dinner he would actually get to eat. 

The chicken was mildly cold but good in the same way most delivery chicken was. Either way it was a comforting taste and a comforting feeling to have to defend his food from Jaehyun’s greedy mitts. The soju tasted like ass—as always—but Doyoung forced at least half a shot down before Jaehyun’s phone rang and he excused himself from the conversation to dip into his room and take the call. 

That left Doyoung with Sicheng. _Ah._

He finished the rest of his shot and poured himself a second one as Sicheng’s eyes met his. Sicheng was just really pretty and really intimidating and so Doyoung aimed to rid himself of the feeling that being around Sicheng tended to inspire. He figured his friends would call it gay panic, but since Jaehyun was his only friend and about as oblivious to Doyoung’s uncomfortability with his roommate as he was to the stock market, nobody was there to call Doyoung out. Nobody but the voice in Doyoung’s head that made him push down four more shots as Sicheng continued to look up from his paper just to stare a bit before going back to work. 

With Doyoung choking down a fifth shot, Sicheng finally decided to start a conversation.

“How was your day Doyoung-ssi?” the blonde asked. His voice was calm and cool and the gaze he fixed Doyoung with was just _mildly_ judgemental. 

“Ah. Not all that great.” Doyoung bit out nervously. “Yours?”

“This paper has kept me busy.” Sicheng answered and Doyoung began to seriously think about how long Jaehyun had been gone. He checked the clock. It had been only ten minutes.

Sicheng went back to typing, but Doyoung wasn’t ready to give up the conversation. “What are you writing about?” 

“Socialization and how loneliness affects people’s mental health.” Sicheng answered quickly and the rock that had been slowly sinking in Doyoung’s stomach for the past three weeks began to move a lot faster. 

Doyoung poured himself another shot.

“That’s interesting. Definitely a lot to think about that topic.” 

“Is there something specific on your mind?” The question was innocent, but it made the rock hit the bottom of Doyoung’s stomach and a bout of emotional nausea rolled over him. He immediately tossed back the shot in front of him and wrinkled up his nose at the taste. 

“Nothing in particular, no.” Doyoung lied through his teeth, trying to ignore all of those stupid emotions that were gathering at the mention of loneliness. Thank god things were quickly getting hazier as his earlier drinking began to set in. 

“I thought you might.” Sicheng said, his tone carefully balanced at a point where Doyoung wasn’t sure if he was disappointed in his lack of opinion or glad the conversation was over. Could be either. Doyoung wasn’t ever able to tell what Sicheng’s brain was up to.

“I don’t think Sicheng-ssi. There’s nothing rattling around up here.” Doyoung informed the other as he pointed to his head. Sicheng hummed as he looked back to his paper. Doyoung emptied the rest of the first bottle into his glass and sucked it down. He then started on his second. 

“Hyung, I’m calling you a cab.” 

“I didn’t finish my chicken. I can’t leave. That’s such a waste.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“No Jaehyun, I don’t think you understand. I have to eat it.” 

“Hey Doyoung-hyung, watch me.” Jaehyun said, moving to steady Doyoung against the wall before walking back to the table where Doyoung’s half eaten chicken was just sitting. Oh and Sicheng was gone. When had he left?

“Hyung!” Jaehyun barked and Doyoung’s attention was ripped back to where Jaehyun stood with the chicken in hand. Doyoung watched in wonder as the younger scarfed down what was left in record speed. When it was gone he bowed and Doyoung made sure to clap extra loud just so Jaehyun knew how incredible he was. 

“My Jae-yah’s so talented.” Doyoung cooed in his best old lady impression when Jaehyun came back. He reached up to pinch the other’s cheeks as well, pleasantly surprised when Jaehyun let him. 

“Find somebody else to call yours.” Jaehyun said, his dimples popping out as he gave a cocky smile. “Mingyu’s got me cuffed.” Doyoung scrunched up his face in displeasure and stretched Jaehyun’s cheek extra hard. 

“Fuck Mingyu. He makes me feel lonely.” he huffed and Jaehyun shrugged.

“Too bad. So sad.” 

“Being in love is overrated and makes your friends sad, Jae-yah. Rethink it.”

“I think love is perfectly rated-” 

“Not a word.”

“And _you_ should rethink it.”

Doyoung stuck out his tongue. “No.” 

“Sucks to suck then.” Jaehyun gave Doyoung a nice pat on the cheek before slipping his arm around Doyoung’s waist. “Let’s go wait for your cab.” Doyoung reluctantly placed his arm over Jaehyun’s shoulders and let the other support his weight. Maybe a little more than necessary. Maybe a lot more if Jaehyun’s groan was anything to go by. 

“Just to let you know…” Doyoung started, making a signal for Jaehyun to get really close in so he could whisper. “Lee Taeyong is a bitch man and I want to kiss him on the lips.” 

Jaehyun cupped his hand and whispered into Doyoung’s ear. “I don’t know who that is.”

“Oh gross. You should. He’s hot.” 

“Yeah, well Liam Hemmingsworth is also hot but you don’t know who he is.”

“Is he Thor?”

“No.”

“Captain America?”

“No.”

“Oh fuck. Is he the purple man? Are you into that?”

“No. Keep guessing.”

“Is he Thor?”

“You already asked that, hyung. He is not.”

“Then who is he?”

“Your mom.”

“I’ll kill you Jeong Jaehyun. I will. I know where you live and your birthday and maybe your bank password.”

“You don’t know my bank password.”

“I will.”

“How?”

“I’m gonna seduce Mingyu and get it from him.”

“Bullshit.”

“Not bullshit.”

“Okay. Good luck. Now get in that cab and go far away from here.” 

And with that Doyoung was pushed into the backseat of a car, unaware of when he and Jaehyun had even made it outside in the first place.

The ride to Doyoung’s house was frankly uneventful other than the distressing remembrance of the maybe five, maybe four soju bottles he had left in Jaehyun’s apartment. However, what was more distressing was the fact that Doyoung was physically unable to remember his apartment password. No no, he remembered it. The numbers were just kind of not existing right on his keypad. The angry beeping that had come from his lock not once, but twice, had scared Doyoung into very carefully trying to type in his password a third time. 

He aggressively flinched when his lock beeped at him once more. The sudden urge to cry had Doyoung sliding down against the wall and tucking his legs to his chest as he stared at the chipping white paint that coated the wall opposite him. 

“You stupid little man.” Doyoung whispered to himself. “You lonely smelly little man who needs to admit that maybe Jaehyun is right and that the universe is telling you to find more people to love because Sicheng’s writing a paper and you could be the subject of that paper and you can’t remember your apartment password or stop thinking about a rude bitch man who didn’t even say thank you and now you’re crying.” 

Hot fat tears slipped down Doyoung’s cheeks as he burrowed his face into his arms and tried not to think about Sicheng’s stupid paper or Taeyong’s stupid face. But he kept thinking about them and it just dug him into a deeper hole. 

“Doyoung-ssi?” a hesitant voice rang out followed by a slew of fast paced Mandarin. Doyoung looked up only to come face to face with Kun’s dumb intern and another boy Doyoung had never seen in his life. 

“Why are you here?” Doyoung asked Dejun and his friend while aggressively trying to get rid of the snot that was escaping from his nose.

Dejun pointed a few doors down the hallway. “I live here.”

“Oh.”

“Why are you here?” he asked in return and Doyoung felt fresh tears run down his face.

“Because I don’t know how to get into my apartment.” he whined and let his head fall back into his arms. Dejun’s friend said something in Mandarin again to which Dejun responded _in Mandarin_ and the inability to understand what they had just said made Doyoung want to cry harder. “I just want to go home.”

“Which is your apartment?” Doyoung pointed a shaky finger at the door next to him and Dejun hummed. “Can you tell me the password?”

“Oh-two fourteen ninety seven.” Doyoung recited, immediately perking up when he heard his lock make a happy little noise instead of the mean angry one it had been doing earlier. 

“You did it.” Doyoung said in shock as he looked up at Dejun. Dejun’s friend had a funny little grin on his face and Doyoung couldn’t decide whether it was a grin he liked or not. Dejun on the other hand just looked concerned. 

“Jun, let’s get him inside.” the friend said, reaching a hand out for Doyoung to take. Doyoung wiped his nose on his hand once before taking Dejun’s friend’s hand and deciding that he did like that funny little grin the other wore. 

“Oh yeah, um…” Dejun said quickly as he also rushed to help Doyoung up, all while keeping a foot placed in the door so it wouldn’t close. Doyoung shakily stood and Dejun’s friend went to help steady him before leading him inside. 

“-So then she tells me that owning a racecar won’t suddenly give me my license and I’m like _Woah. I know I can’t drive. No need to rub it in_.” Dejun’s friend chattered on as he sat next to Doyoung on the couch. Doyoung just stared at his boob light and tried to hold onto whatever information he could. “Oh I’m Yangyang by the way.” that would stick. That he could remember.

“Yangyang…” Doyoung repeated.

“Yeah. Anyway, I can’t drive. I should know how to drive, but I never like tried to learn? Like when was I supposed to? Anyway busses are cool. I don’t need a car.” 

Dejun came in just then with a glass of water and told Yangyang something in mandarin before handing it off to Doyoung. It took precisely ten seconds for the glass to be empty. 

“I owe you guys a meal or something for doing this.” Doyoung said and Yangyang’s eyes (in particular) lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Hotpot. You should owe us a hotpot.” he said and Dejun gave him a look.

“I can do a hotpot. You should come over for that or something.” Doyoung slurred slightly before turning to Dejun. “I can’t believe you live in the same building as me. You should come over for dinner more.”

“Yes we should.” said Yangyang at the same time Dejun let out a very modest; “I wouldn’t want to impose.” The short resulting argument in Mandarin was something Doyoung could dub over in his head. 

It was totally about how Dejun worked with him and didn’t want to be a bother and that Yangyang was hungry and wanted dinner. Two very conflicting viewpoints. Doyoung could sympathise with both parties.

“Doyoung-ssi, ignore him and listen to me-” started Yangyang, but Doyoung cut him off.

“Call me hyung.”

“Okay. Doyoung- _hyung_ , ignore him and listen to me. Crab hotpot. This week. Be there or be square.” 

Dejun spoke up then. “Doyoung-ssi, you can say-”

“Shhh you call me hyung too.” 

“Okay well… hyung,” Dejun started, testing the word. Doyoung just smiled. “Say no if you don’t want to. He’s being pushy.”

“Am not.” Yangyang argued.

“Are too.” Dejun snapped back.

“Look,” Doyoung interrupted. “I don’t want to be a square and you got me into my house.” Yangyang beamed while Dejun looked a little queasy. 

“We did do that.” pushed Yangyang and Dejun hit him. Doyoung ignored it.

“So lemme cook for you.” Yangyang let out a loud hoot and lifted up Dejun’s arms so that he could _“cheer”_ too. “Now get out of my house. It’s my bedtime.”

Doyoung awoke with a pounding headache, a rolling stomach, and three new texts from an unknown number.

 **Unknown** [11:34pm]

_Hey this is Lee Taeyong :)_

**Unknown** [11:34pm]

_Kun-ssi gave me your number. I hope that’s alright._

**Unknown** [11:37pm]

_Super embarrassing but I just wanted to say thank you for the hard work! I forgot to say it at the shoot and it’s been eating at me all day._

**Unknown** [11:38pm]

_Excited to see how I turned up on camera!!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> an excerpt from the brain of one dong sicheng— _he's drinking a lot... i wonder if something happened... okay that's too much way too fast shit shit shit. i'll start a conversation. it'll be fine... great that made it worse *anxious brain groaning*_  
>   
>  you can catch me on twt @wonbits !


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